In my dreams it feels like we aren't ever gonna fall
by thegirl20
Summary: AU: Regina is pursued because of her association with the Wolf Queen who terrorises the land. Written as part of the Red Queen Week 2017 Exchange.


Run. Fast. Legs. Move. Muscles. Hurt.

Regina tries to keep her mind focused as she barrels through the forest, snapping branches with her broad head and shoulders, her big paws churning up the undergrowth. Usually her movements are sleek and soundless. On a normal night, she could take this same route and barely disturb a leaf. Tonight is not one of those nights.

The angry shouts of the village folk are getting closer and each step is getting harder. She looks back at the hind leg she's been dragging behind her since an arrow pierced the fleshy part of her hindquarters. The pain emanating from the wound tells her that it's not a mere arrow. The tip must be silver, or dipped in Wolfsbane. She prays it is the former. The sun will be up soon and her human body won't survive the poison's effects long. Silver will hurt, yes, but Wolfsbane will kill her. And if it doesn't, Red will kill her for getting herself into such a situation.

Regina's never really thought about death in any great depth. She's faced it a few times; choosing to defy your mother and sister and escape with the girl they're intent on murdering does not make for an easy life. But any encounters with death have been fleeting and the next challenge has come quickly enough that they were soon forgotten.

Her lungs are burning now, whether from exertion or the effects of the arrow, she's unsure. Whichever it is, she knows she's not going to make it much further. The combination of the wound and the chase have sapped her energy, leaving her clumsy and graceless. She attempts to jump over a fallen tree, but her bad leg catches and trips her, sending her tumbling to the forest floor. A half-hearted attempt to get to her feet is unsuccessful as her front legs quiver and give out. This is it, she thinks, this is how I die.

Thoughts of Red appear unbidden, memories of their life together. A hundred thousand tiny moments of laughter and heartache and fear and love. She tries to call to mind how Red's face looks in the early light of morning. How her brow is uncreased and free from the responsibilities thrust upon her as Snow's most trusted advisor. How the soft light accentuates her strong jaw and sharp cheekbones. How sometimes Regina just wants to bury into her soft skin and stay there forever.

Her skin begins to prickle and she looks up to see the first rays of the sun's light peeking through the trees. The voices draw nearer as the change comes over her. She turns onto her back, the damp forest floor seeping into her clothes, no longer protected by her fur. She closes her eyes and waits for the inevitable.

The voices are very close now and it's only a matter of moments before the villagers will be upon her. She looks up into the murky morning light, darkened by the trees, and tries to be thankful for the life she's had. Not everyone is as fortunate as she is. She has know what it is like to love and be loved _fiercely._ She has known what it is like to look into another's eyes and find a home. She has been taken to heights of ecstasy she's sure that few people reach. She has had a good life. And now she will try to have a good death.

Breathing is becoming more difficult, but her body still has enough awareness for her nerve endings to flare with the recognition that another magical being is near. Sure enough, familiar red smoke billows in front of her and then Red is crouched above her, eyes roaming over her body for injury.

"You _idiot_ ," she scolds. "Why were you this far out? It took me forever to find you."

Tears blind Regina for a moment before they spill over her cheeks. She's so happy to see Red, and so relieved that their life together won't be cut short. She reaches up a trembling hand to touch Red's cheek, gratified when Red turns to press a kiss to her palm. Red frowns. "You're cold…"

"Leg." The single word takes far more effort than it should to get out, but Red understands and immediately shifts to look for her injury. The arrow is broken from her escape through the forest, and juts out awkwardly from the back of her thigh, through a rip in her soft buckskin leggings. Red bends her head to the wound and jerks up.

"Wolfsbane." Her voice is no more than a whisper. "Right, we need to get y-"

A clamour draws her attention to the arrival of the angry mob, armed with whatever they could grab in their hurried pursuit of Regina.

A leader of sorts steps forward, brandishing a torch. "My lady, kindly step aside. We have no quarrel with you, we know you are a trusted companion of Queen Snow."

"As is this gravely injured woman." Red stands up to her full height, an imposing figure in her crimson cloak.

"She is a _wolf_! None of their kind is to be trusted!" A woman's voice calls out from the crowd to a chorus of agreement.

"And not any wolf, but the sister of our Bitch Queen!" Another man lends his voice.

"She has done you no harm, nor would she _ever_." Red's voice is shaking with anger and Regina lifts her arm to reach out and touch her somehow, to give her comfort, but it drops back to the ground, useless.

"Wolves killed my boy!" "And my brother." "My parents died in her sister's dungeon!"

More and more voices join in and in their frenzy, the crowd surges forward. Red sweeps out an arm and sends them all flying backwards, some colliding with trees, some skidding along the muddy forest floor. Red turns back to her and bends, the hand touching her cheek the same one that just dispatched three dozen people with no effort.

"C'mon, let's get you back to Granny."

The comforting smell of Red's magic is the last thing Regina is aware of before the blackness that has been threatening the edges of her consciousness finally closes in.

* * *

When she next wakes, she can tell even before she opens her eyes that she's undercover, and that there's a fire close by. There's a dull ache in her head and her mouth is dry, but she has to really concentrate to feel any pain in her leg. It's little more than a faint tingle; the itch of skin knitting itself together over a wound. Movement in the room she's in draws her attention and she opens her eyes and turns towards it. Granny is crouching by the fire, stirring a pot. Regina opens her mouth to call out to her, but her tongue sticks to the roof of her mouth and she ends up making an unidentifiable groaning noise. Granny stands and spins around, a smile breaking over her face when she sees Regina is awake. She bustles over, stopping to scoop water into a ladle from a pitcher. She brings the ladle to Regina's lips, allowing the cool liquid to spill into her mouth and over her chin. She drinks hungrily, just stopping short of lapping at it.

"Not too much," Granny scolds, taking the ladle away and dabbing at Regina's chin with a rag. "You can have more in a while." Warm blue eyes search Regina's face as she sits on the edge of the makeshift bed she's in. "It's good to see those eyes open, pup. You gave us quite a scare."

"M'sorry," Regina manages, her voice sounding more gravelly than she's used to. "Red...mad?"

"Oh, she was madder than hell once we were sure you'd live," Granny confirms with a nod. "Before that she was an absolute wreck."

Regina's throat tightens with emotion at the thought of Red being upset and not being there to comfort her. In fact, _being_ the cause of the upset. "Wh-where is she?" She tries to pull herself to sit up, but her arms are weak and she collapses to her previous prone position.

"Just stay there," Granny warns. "That Wolfsbane did its work on you. I had to pull on some primitive magics to counteract its effects. You've pretty much had war waged inside your body for the last day or so. You'll be tired for a while. But you'll get your strength back, don't worry."

Regina's brow creases in concern as Granny speaks. She's not a young woman and she's seen the effect using a lot of magic can have on her. "A-are you okay?"

Granny chortles and bends to kiss Regina's grimy forehead. "Yes, pup, I'm fine. And I would do it again, a thousand times over, to make sure my granddaughter never loses you."

They smile at each other for a moment, before the flap opens and Red enters, already speaking. "I managed to get the valoroot, but I'm coming up dry on the grol-Regina!" Whatever she's holding is dropped as Red almost flies to Regina's bedside. Both hands come to cup her cheeks as Red's tear filled eyes meet her own.

"Hi," Regina says, smiling up at the woman who is her whole world.

That word appears to break a dam somewhere inside Red because she is overcome with wracking sobs, collapsing on top of Regina as her body convulses with the strength of them. Regina looks to Granny, panicked. The older woman just smiles and shakes her head, her own eyes shining more than usual.

"I'll leave the two of you alone." She retreats and closes over the flap.

Regina uses all the energy she can summon up to wrap her arms around Red, who is still crying into her neck. "Shhhh, my love." She tries to comfort her as best she can. She's used to being able to sweep Red into her arms and squeeze her tightly, lending her own strength where Red's is lacking, but right now she's as weak as a kitten. "I'm here. We're here."

Lifting her head, Red allows Regina to glimpse her tearstained face, and Regina's chest aches at the sight of it. "You...you nearly…" Red shakes her head, pressing her lips together. The word seemingly too unpalatable for her to utter.

"But I didn't." Regina saves her from it. "You found me. You saved me. And we're here together."

"Why were you even out there? Why were you anywhere near that village?" Red's brow is lined with confusion, even as her hands stroke and pet Regina's hair and face.

"I...I wanted to scout it out. I'd heard Zelena's pack had been prowling around and I wanted to check before we took everyone out there." Regina swallows. "I didn't mean to go so near...but the smell of death was so strong and I ended up in their graveyard…" She closes her eyes. "So many dead, Red. Women, children...I…"

Red sighs. "You felt guilty on your sister's behalf and it lowered your guard enough for them to attack you."

Flushing at her transparency, Regina offers a small nod. "I'd been hit before I knew what was happening."

Red shakes her head. "That big heart of yours is going to be your downfall, you know that?"

Regina smiles. "Not as long as you hold it, my darling."

"Do _not_ think your charm will make me forget that you almost left me, Regina Mills."

"Not through choice, _never_ through choice." Regina tilts her face towards Red, asking for a kiss, which she is granted. Red's whimper is a delight to her ears as their mouths move together in a well practiced dance. Red's forehead rests against her own when their kiss ends. Her breathing is uneven, as if she's trying to control something. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

Red lifts her head and meets Regina's eyes. "When you were...in those dark hours when we thought-" She still struggle to say it. "I...I felt it, Regina. I felt it pull at me."

She can hear Red's heart speeding up and she wraps her arms around her again. She doesn't have to ask what she's talking about, she already knows. Red comes from a long line of sorceresses, so her ability to wield magic came as no surprise. Red's mother died when she was young, leaving her to be raised by Granny, who never knew who Red's father was. And when Red's magic started to manifest, it had a definite tinge of darkness to it. Rather than the white smoke that signalled Granny's spells, Red's had always been scarlet. With Granny's careful mentoring, and Regina's encouragement, Red had managed to resist the pull of her darker side. But she had experienced moments of temptation, moments where revenge seemed an easier path than reconciliation. And Regina had been there to talk her through it, to hold her close and remind her of who she was. Tears appear in Regina's eyes as she imagines what Red must have gone through as she believed Regina was about to die.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that alone," she whispers, tugging Red closer.

"I wanted to _kill_ them, Regina." Red confides, the words spoken against Regina's cheek. "I wanted to burn that village to the ground. I'm not sure I would have been able to resist it..."

"You would have." Regina speaks with the confidence that Red doesn't have. "I _know_ you would have." She dips her head to nuzzle against Red's cheek. "You would have continued the fight by Snow's side until my sister was defeated. Because you, Red Lucas, are a good person. Whatever you may think about yourself, I know that to be true."

Red lets out a puff of breath that she'd been holding, pressing her face further into Regina's. "I'm _so_ glad we don't have to test that theory."

Laughing softly, Regina strokes Red's hair. "I love you."

Red shifts on the bed until she's wrapped around Regina, sighing as she settles her head on her shoulder. "Love you too, you big dumb wolf." She yawns. "I've been awake for two nights, crying by your bedside, so now you need to lie here and cuddle me while I get some sleep."

"Done," Regina agrees, pressing a kiss to Red's forehead. "Sleep well, my love."

She listens to Red's breath deepen and lengthen and it's not long before she follows her into slumber.


End file.
